Be a Member of the Movement

When NORML was founded in late 1970, only 12% of the country supported legalizing marijuana; 88% were opposed to our goals. After decades of hard work by thousands of committed advocates like you, we have gradually won the hearts and minds of a majority of the public. Today, over 60 percent of adults nationwide support ending marijuana prohibition and establishing a regulated market where consumers can obtain marijuana in a safe and secure setting.

We are certainly proud of the enormous progress we have made toward ending marijuana prohibition, especially the gains we have made over the last several years. Today, 30 states have legalized the medical use of marijuana; eight states and the District of Columbia have fully legalized the recreational use of marijuana. And we continue to add more victories each year.

But legalization in Colorado means nothing to those who are arrested for simple possession in Georgia, just as a robust medical program in California means nothing to the cancer patient in North Carolina.

So far this year, we are pushing for over 70 pieces of legislation and expect that number to easily eclipse 150 in the coming weeks.

The goal at NORML is to achieve a policy under which responsible cannabis consumers are treated fairly in all aspects of their lives.

First and foremost, our mission is to reform state and federal marijuana laws to ensure that no adult will ever face criminal or civil penalties for the responsible consumption of marijuana and that all Americans have the ability to access cannabis for medicinal use if recommended by their physician.

However, just because more states have begun to legalize adult-use and medicinal marijuana doesn’t mean the fight is over; cannabis consumers are still being penalized and discriminated against in a number of ways.

We believe that:

It is wrong that consumers remain subject to job discrimination. Employers ought not to be able to fire employees solely for their off-job marijuana usage, just as employers are unable to sanction employees who consume alcohol after work or on the weekends.

Marijuana consumers must not be subject to over-regulation and excessive taxation. Marijuana consumers want a product that is safe, convenient and affordable. We want the marijuana to be tested in a state-certified lab to assure it is free of molds and harmful pesticides, and we want accurate labelling of the THC and CBD levels.

And parents all too often have to fight to maintain custody of their children. The mere fact that a parent chooses to consume marijuana must not be treated under the law as a presumption they are unfit parents.

And thousands of drivers are arrested for driving under the influence of marijuana, simply because they tested positive for some small amount of THC in their system, without the slightest evidence they were driving while impaired. NORML opposes the imposition of these zero-tolerance per se traffic safety laws and is lobbying for their repeal.

14 responses to “Be a Member of the Movement”

What is it with Extreme right wingers suddenly going soft on marijuana policy after the heat picks up on their connections to Russian money laundering?

Note that this is a FORMER NRA director piping up about the injustice of arresting marijuana consuming gun owners with felony possession. No active NRA affiliate much less director has ever stuck their neck out in support of marijuana reform. Law enforcement are some of their best customers. But these days, law enforcement are customers of state legal marijuana as well.

Truth is, with the way the CSAct is written, any controlled substance in the schedule 1 category is a forfeit to bear arms under federal law. It’s not clear if big money from the NRA would stop a judge from ruling that way even if they did chime in (which they don’t and have not).

But at least lets call the NRA out for what they are: treasonous arms brokers more interested in selling guns than defending the rights and national security of American citizens. Reinterpreting the 2nd amendment then ignoring the plight of marijuana consuming gun owners for more than two decades of state legalization is proof of that.

Let’s help each other out. When we see a state in trouble let’s give them enhancement. All states that wish to legalize marijuana have a mutual opponent and that’s our lack of cooperation and involvement in the legislative process.